Land and Environment Court of New South Wales explained

Court Name:	Land and Environment Court of New South Wales
Chiefjudgetitle:	Chief Judge
Jurisdiction:	New South Wales, Australia
Location:	Sydney
Authority:	Parliament of New South Wales via the

The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales is a court within the Australian court hierarchy established pursuant to the to hear environmental, development, building and planning disputes. The Court’s jurisdiction, confined to the state of New South Wales, Australia, includes merits review, judicial review, civil enforcement, criminal prosecution, criminal appeals and civil claims about planning, environmental, land, mining and other legislation.

History

The Court was established on 1 April 1980 as the world's first environmental court that was also a superior court of record.^[1]

A Parliamentary review in 2001 noted "It is evident that there is some dissatisfaction within sections of the community about the role and operations of the Court".^[2]

Structure and jurisdiction

The Court is a superior court of record. It consists of a Chief Judge, severals Judges, and Commissioners. The New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal and the New South Wales Court of Appeal, both divisions of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, may hear appeals from the Court, depending on the nature of case. Appellants on constitutional issues may seek special leave for the matter to be heard before the High Court of Australia in certain circumstances.

The Court has appellate jurisdiction over the Local Court of New South Wales with respect to an environmental offence under the .^[1]

Current composition

Judges have the same rank, title, status and precedence as the Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Judges preside over all Aboriginal land claims matters, most land tenure and compensation matters, and can hear matters in all other Classes of the Court’s jurisdiction.

The Judges, in order of seniority, are as follows:

Name	Title	Term began	Term ended	Time in office	Notes
	Chief Judge		present		^[3]
	Judges		present
			present
			present
			present
			present

Past Judicial officers and decision makers

Former Judges

• The Honourable Justice Terry Sheahan
• The Honourable Justice Malcolm Craig
• The Honourable Justice Peter Biscoe
• The Honourable Justice Paul Stein
• The Honourable Justice Neal Bignold
• The Honourable Justice Angus Talbot – 1992 to 2007
• The Honourable Justice David Lloyd
• The Honourable Justice Jayne Jagot

See also

• List of New South Wales courts and tribunals
• Warden Court, a predecessor to the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales
• NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act)

References

1. Web site: About us . Land and Environment Court . . 29 April 2015 . 10 August 2016 .
2. A Review of the Land and Environment Court. Stewart. Smith. September 2001. NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service. Briefing Paper No 13/01. 21.
3. Web site: Judicial officers and decision makers . Land and Environment Court of New South Wales . Government of New South Wales . 5 April 2016 . 11 August 2016 .

External links

• Web site: Land & Environment Court . NSW Department of Communities and Justice . 11 August 2016 .